Rating: 
Summary: cry for help
Review: John Grisham has reached almost unprecedented heights in recent years with his slick legal thrillers, but he loses the plot entirely here. Science fiction romantic comedies are never done for the simple reason they don't work. Give Grisham credit, he tries something off the beaten path here but it all goes horribly wrong after a few chapters. without revealing the plodding plot, nothing is going on here !! Two people sitting in a small closet talking quietly to each other may make for riviting German arthouse film, but in book form all it induces is a zombie like state. Even the mandatory surprise twist at the end fails to awaken the slumbering reader. Not recommended by this particular reader.
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Summary: ORIGINAL GENRE FICTION
Review: Taken as a crime/legal novel this has all the usual ingredients delivered with a very well observed level of detail. The idea of an 'establishment' law firm very well camouflaged, but entirely dedicated to the Mob, is a fresh idea made very believable by the careful construction of the firm's 'acceptable face of the law' with a sinister matrix of wheels-within-wheels which really power the Mafia machine that it is. The mix of characters works well. There are burnt-out characters, dead characters, avuncular but deadly bosses, there are innocenti who will never know the true nature of their employer, and there are those who will be inexorably targeted - to be sucked into the web of deceit. Once suitably comprised and bound as partners in crime, they will never leave the firm, or live honest lives again. The main character is the ardent young Mitch McDeere, brilliant, ambitious, honest, and poor. He and his wife embody the American Dream, and this job will be the first step in his brilliant career. Will the firm break him and swallow the pieces, or will he survive?As I normally detest gangster films and books (I can't shake off the "apes in Italian suits" stereotypes which I find nauseating and boring) I was surprised to find I thoroughly enjoyed this work on its own genre merits. The detail that goes into describing the firm's workings as a company, its obsessive secrecy and surveillance, and the cast of characters are varied and well observed. Some inevitable stereotypes exist, but they relate to each other in a believable fashion. The plot moves quickly with the right amount of surprises and good luck/bad luck coincidence. The final end of the story has winners and losers, turning on an unusual legal point. It guarantees that the ending is not as you would expect or could predict. I will be trying another John Grisham at some point!
Rating:
Summary: A well written book...
Review: The book had kept me on the edge of my chair with suspense... Even though I've seen the movie before reading the book (and I must admit I liked the book much better than the movie, and found its ending much more realistic). I could rally sympathise with Mitch's dilema - a poor kid being offered a chance of getting rich if he's willing to take the chance that the firm won't be caught by the FBI, And finally making the right choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Builds to a satisfying climax
Review: Not my first Grisham book, but better than his first outing with 'A Time To Kill'. This one took a totally different ride than his 1st book, too. More imaginative, and no matter how outlandish a firm of lawyers run by mafia men might be, it sure did make for entertaining reading. Mitch McDeere is fresh out of law school, not doing all that well financially, but he IS being courted by several law firms who believe he has great potential. He finally settles on a firm in Memphis that has a tiny little secret that he only finds out after almost passing the point of no return. A few too many of his co-workers suddenly and mysteriously turn up dead, and if Mitch wants to avoid an untimely demise of similar situations, what he needs to do is keep his big mouth shut and just move on like everything is hunky-dory. His office is bugged...his HOME is bugged, so is his car...his every move is being watched, recorded and manipulated to make him commit to the firm--for LIFE. But on top of all this is the FBI's casual connection. They carefully contact Mitch and inform him of his Firm's nasty little secret and work very hard to get him to work for them. Mitch is very aware that by doing so, he's putting himself and his wife in serious danger. HOW do you get OUT of a situation like this? I have to admit, I asked that question several times as this plot not just took off, but was launched into motion. From the Grand Cayman Islands to Washington D.C. 'The Firm' is a unique view of law and it's potential pitfalls. Grisham is far from being the best author that this genre has to offer, but he HAS written a few really compelling and most of all, entertaining legal-thrillers, and 'The Firm' is definitely one OF them.
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Summary: It blew me away the first time I read it. . .
Review: . . .that would be way back in either '91 or '92, I think. I'd read a local newspaper review of it that said it was impossible to put down. While going through a very busy time when I needed some escapist fiction to help me cope, I bought it. Oh, my. What WAS Mitch going to do when both that workplace and the Fibbies started putting the squeeze on him? This one was written back before John Grisham got famous and his work got watered down and sloppy in the rush to get yet another one to the publisher and collect his royalties. Everyone I loaned it to--from my "silver citizen" mom to my future husband to my co-workers--couldn't put it down, either. I myself stayed up all night to finish it. Mitch and Abby were folks worth rooting for, and I kept booing, hissing, and spitting everytime that evil security guard reared his head. Great fun. Not Shakespeare, but definitely not bad, either.
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Summary: Much better than I expected
Review: This was a great book! I loved it! After having read the street lawer, and finding it to be a pretty good book, but still not great, I was expecting the same from The Firm. But The Firm was so much better! There were hardly any real slow parts in the plot, and what a plot it was! ok, so it may not have been the most realistic in the world, but if you want real, go read a news paper! I wanted to be entertained and that's what I got! I couldn't put it down, and when I had to put it down I kept thinking about what was going to happen next. I think most people would find this book good, the only complaint I had was about the ending, but after the rets of the book being so good, I wouldn't dwell on it. Do yourself a favor, read this book.
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Summary: Very entertaining - Eye opener
Review: They say that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. That is the best way to describe the storyline of this book. The book is action packed and is full of surprises and the ending is edge of your seat kind of suspence. Grisham is very detailed in his writing. I loved the different settings. Wonderful story and a wonderful writer. If you join a firm, make sure you know what you're getting into.
Rating:
Summary: The firm
Review: It was an intense book. I was hvaing a hard time putting it down. When I got home from school, I would read it until dinner time, then I would continue readinbg it thereafter. It was a great book. I would reccomend the book to anyone one who was thinking about reading it. The movie was pretty good too, but the book went so much deeper, and it was much better.
Rating:
Summary: The Edge of Your Seat
Review: John Grisham's novel The Firm is extremely well written. The depth in which he defines his characters allows the plot to flow easily, as well as allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the lives of his characters. The story of Mitch McDeere's decision to join the Bendini firm and the trouble that follows is a riveting ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The book is an excellent example of suspense that entraps the reader and keeps them hanging on to every word. The Firm is undoubtedly a novel that can't be put down, a real page turner. If you like suspense and a good read, The Firm is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: A young lawyer straight out of law school goes to work for a law firm that turn out to be crooked. This is the story of how he gets out of trouble after his timesheets are altered by the firm in turn making him suspect. This is a gripping tale that leaves you dangling then lashes back with force. I loved it.
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